Commission rescinds 'illegal' contract

Wednesday

May 21, 2014 at 5:06 PM

CLINTON—Anderson County Commission voted unanimously on Monday night to rescind what County Law Director Jay Yeager dubbed an illegal contract with Blossman Gas of Sevierville.The company recently received the go-ahead after the natural gas supply contract for Anderson County went out to bid for renewal. The current supplier, Holston Gas, was one of three bidders along with Blossman and the third bidder was not named during the meeting.

Russel Langley/The Oak Ridger

CLINTON—Anderson County Commission voted unanimously on Monday night to rescind what County Law Director Jay Yeager dubbed an illegal contract with Blossman Gas of Sevierville.The company recently received the go-ahead after the natural gas supply contract for Anderson County went out to bid for renewal. The current supplier, Holston Gas, was one of three bidders along with Blossman and the third bidder was not named during the meeting.Holston's bid was disqualified because of what Yeager called a technicality and the award was given to Blossman Gas. The problem surfaced when Yeager learned that Scott Daugherty works for Blossman Gas and is also on the county's Purchasing Committee.According to Yeager, he learned this information after the April daytime meeting of the Commission and the commissioners had already awarded the contract to Blossman. Yeager said that was why he was asking the Commission to rescind the award.County Mayor Terry Frank told the commissioners that the fact that Daugherty works for Blossman and sits on the Purchasing Committee isn’t enough of a conflict of interest to declare the contract illegal. Frank said that she has asked a judge to review the contract and the possible conflict of interest.“If the judge rules there is no conflict then this contract can go forward,” Frank said.Yeager countered her argument by saying that state statute is clear on the matter of conflict of interest. “There can't be any direct or indirect financial gain,” he said.See ‘ILLEGAL,’ Page 4A

According to the law director, since Daugherty is an employee of Blossman he receives an indirect financial gain by receiving his salary. Yeager also classified Frank's request of a judge as a lawsuit filed by the mayor against him.Commissioner Steve Mead asked Yeager if Daugherty worked for Holston when they received the contract. Yeager said that he did but that he was not on the Purchasing Committee when that contract was awarded.Daugherty told the commissioners that he wasn’t an investor with Blossman and that he had recused himself from the contract vote.“The only thing I could do was take myself out of the voting,” said Daugherty, adding that he had nothing to do with Blossman's bid.When asked for his best legal advice by Commissioner Zach Bates, Yeager said that it was to rescind the contract and rebid for a new gas supplier. Yeager indicated he was worried about possible legal action from the third unnamed bidder, he said.Commissioner Rick Meredith said that there was a breakdown in communication between Purchasing, the Mayor's Office and Yeager. He asked Yeager where that break occurred.“The break in communication was that I was never contacted about this potential issue,” Yeager said.Meredith then moved to defer the issue to the Purchasing Committee; and that motion failed in a 6-to-10 vote with 10 commissioners voting not to defer.Yeager then appealed to the Commission to take action before he had to go to court over Frank's lawsuit.“I don't want to go to court and have to say I told Commission this is illegal and they didn't do anything about it,” the law director said.Pamela Cotham, purchasing agent for the county, told the commissioners that she had no idea of the potential conflict of interest and that is often the case with the contracts she awards. She also said that she often has to wait 30 days until Commission meetings to receive legal opinions on contracts.“I am asking for your help,” a tearful Cotham told the Commission.